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WOMEN CAN BE PRIESTS

Blind Obedience?

“The Pope is the Pope, is the Pope!

The Church teaches total submission: ‘This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown in such a way that his supreme magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will.”Lumen Gentium, § 25c.

“This is only half the story!

True loyalty & obedience does not imply a denial of our own personality, our own mind and our own will !

The Second Vatican Council teaches: ‘Those under authority bring to the execution of commands and to the discharge of duties the resources of their minds and wills, and their gifts of nature and grace.’

Only thus, the Council says, obedience does not diminish the dignity of the human person. Rather it leads to maturity within an enlarged freedom which belongs to the children of God.Perfectae Caritatis § 14.

“Have you forgotten the teaching of St. Ignatius of Loyola?

Blind obedience, he said, should make you like a dead piece of wood that someone can use as a walking stick.

Obedience requires you to accept something is white, even if you yourself see it is black!”

“Yes, Ignatius said that. But it should not be taken literally. Didn’t he want the Jesuits, whose society he founded, to be intelligent, honest, critical and creative?

‘Obedience is listening to the call of God in our own hearts: it is following the inner authority of ourselves as experienced, expressed, and revealed in community … To obey Christ, to obey my bishop, to obey God — all are rooted in being true to who I am in the image of God.’Barbara Schmitz

‘Real obedience stands ready to serve at all times, but independent and critical of every structure that makes uncritical claim upon it’.Joan Chittister

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About Us

Religion informs lives. We reform religion. Help us transform the lives of millions of people who struggle with religious beliefs against gender equality, family planning, and LGBT rights.As an independent non-profit think tank, our interdisciplinary research challenges those beliefs, and highlights traditional and contemporary insights that have the potential to help the Christian tradition grow towards greater inclusivity, justice and compassion.

We are dedicated to making the Sustainable Development Goals a reality by addressing Roman Catholic concerns about Gender Equality, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), and LGBT rights. In our approach we integrate advocacy, research and the support of our partner organisations

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